


Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag

by QuixoticRobotics



Category: Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: Autistic Orpheus, Family Dynamics, adhd persephone, breif allusion to canon typical substance abuse, cute but like also upsetting, hades/persephone but like sad and only talked abt no decent shipping content, how sad this is depends on how canon complient you think the future will be, idk if either thing is that noticable but that was the intent, persephone is self appointed cool aunt orpheus is baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 08:42:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20273137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuixoticRobotics/pseuds/QuixoticRobotics
Summary: It's the last day of Summer, and Orpheus is a curious child.





	Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag

Aunt Per’seph’ne?” The wide eyed child asked the woman in the green dress. “What is it, Kiddo?” She asked without looking up from packing her suitcase, amused by the way Orpheus could not yet pronounce her name correctly. “Why do you have to leave tomorrow?”.

Persephone was pretty sure Orpheus knew the answer. So she grinned and playfully asked “Well, What do you think?”, a question she often asked him, because his answers never failed to bring her joy. The kid really did have a knack for finding a different way of looking at things.

“I know!” Orpheus exclaimed “You’re gonna see your husband again! And you’re gonna go home together and you’re gonna hug and kiss him a bunch, because he missed you so much!”

Yup. That was certainly a different way of looking at things.

Persephone took a deep breath and placed down the dress she was folding. “Yeah. Something like that, Kid. Somthin’ like that.” she answered, gazing off wistfully at nothing in particular.

Orpheus didn’t seem to notice how tired she sounded.

“Can I meet Mr. Hades someday? Orpheus asked. Persephone ached.

  
She’d adored Orpheus from the moment Hermes had taken him in. He was so full of creativity and warmth, always thinking, always growing, free-spirited and caring, ready to overcome any problem. He was everything she loved about humans.

She loved coming back each summer and seeing how much he’d grown. He’d be full of things he’d been waiting to tell her.

She could tell this little speck of humanity spent all winter with thoughts buzzing around in his mind like a bunch of busy bees. She felt similar during those six months. Although she didn’t have anything to do with those thoughts, aside from drown them out before they got so loud and restless she felt as though she was going to explode.

Orpheus was a treasure, one of her favorite parts of coming Up Top. Hades was.......well Hades was a lot of things. But she didn’t want a heart like Orpheus’s stumbling and getting tangled up with someone like Hades. She had given her heart to Hades, It was a choice she made. Persephone didn’t have time to wonder what choices were worth regretting. Dealing with Hades was a privilege and problem that was hers and hers alone.

“Maybe someday.” She answered, hoping that “someday” was “never”.

“Do you ever miss up here when you’re down there?”

Finally a question where she didn’t have to lie. She faced Orpheus for this one, sitting on the bed of what was essentially her vacation home. “I do.” She said, hoping this kid couldn’t pick up on the sadness in her smile. “I really, really do”

“I had an idea about that.” Orpheus said “Did you now?” Persephone asked, genuinely intrigued.

“Yes that’s why I’m telling it to you.” Orpheus said before continuing “Y’know how I’ve been learning to play the harmonica?” Persephone did. She’d heard his enthusiastic, off key puffs into the small metal instrument. Orpheus had always loved music, it was sweet to think he was finally making it. And a childish part of her was amused by the idea of Hermes having to put up with the excited metallic wheezing this child now made whenever possible.

“Well I’m gonna get really good at it!”  
  
“You’re already really good at it” she said

“Well I’m gonna get even better at it!” Orpheus said “And the next time you visit, I’ll have a song to play just for you!”

Persephone was genuinely touched by the proposition. “I’d love that.” she said. “I’ll be waitin’ to hear it!”

“That was my idea!” Orpheus said, waving his arms happily. “Well it’s a damned good one!” Persephone said before catching herself. “Don’t Tell Hermes I said that in front of you.”

Orpheus nodded. Persephone wished she didn’t have any obligations to keep, but she’d forget to do the most basic things if she let herself lose track of time.

“I’d love the chat more kid, but I gotta finish packing my things before I lose focus, and you need to get practicing.” She said with a grin. She lovingly ruffled Orpheus’s hair “You be good for Hermes while I’m gone, alright you lil gremlin?”

“Alright!”  
  


Persephone grinned as he ran out of her room, off to maybe practice the harmonica, maybe go run around in the sunshine while it was still there, he could be off to go do anything.  
  
Tomorrow she would meet her husband at the train station and ride off into whatever bullshit he’d been working on while she was gone. Tomorrow started six months of tedium and darkness and passive aggressive warfare. And tomorrow she’d be thinking of the littlest musician Up Top, and she’d try to remember that he’d have a song for her the next time she saw him.

**Author's Note:**

> More child!Orpheus, also Persephone because im constantly sad about persephone and so should you. this goes with my fic What's Important. funfact the lyrics i used as a title are from an old song from ww1 that got popular again in the 40s? The first time i heard them though it was in the a mountain goats songs about unhealthy relationships and doing drugs. so like either context works. also you'll pry bb orpheus pronouncing Persephone "purrseffnee" out of my cold dead hand. and then you'll pry him calling her "aunt persephone"out of my other cold dead hand.
> 
> are hermes and persephone sibs here? maybe! in my family i grew up calling my parent's close friends aunts and uncles. i took all the weird insect and age gap and other nasty shit from greek mythology shit and slam dunked it in the trash, and now im picking only the finest of cherries. For all intents and purposes the way i write hermes and persephone theyre basically sibs


End file.
